I have caved in and diluted my gel and my conditioner. Surprisingly, it is just as effective. I don't know if it is the marshmellow or what, but its like... no amount of water will reduce these products. Really, we could all be saving money. Buy one bottle and mix it in a TUB of water lol.

But with my first dilution (half a bottle of gel/conditioner, half water), I STILL got flaking. I have since diluted it MORE and I have added castor oil to my gel. Will see how it goes tomorrow.

Here's my problem -- my hair is not SOFT when it dries. How is the hair supposed to feel? Granted, it feels better than I ever expect my hair to, but I don't know how it is supposed to feel.

I am studying the nutrition component of this and I realized that drinking water is really important. That actually, you need to drink atleast 80 oz. of water daily for it to reach your hair. So I'm going to be drinking 3 liters of water a day and see what happens. After speaking with someone who deals with natural hair, she claims she has never met a woman with natural hair who can have really soft hair if she has not mastered the drinking water component.

Maybe its allll about wattteerrr.

Also, can someone please look at these ingredients for me?? This is a gel called PATTERN PUSHA:

How are you applying the gel and leave in? are you going in, in very small thin sections? I have found that this is very important. Doing large sections means that the hair will over clump and stick to each other when it dries. .

How wet is your hair when you apply the gel. It has to be soaking wet and when you apply the gel make sure it feels slippery and that you are gliding it down the whole strand to make sure it forms a cast.Also make sure you are smoothing and raking it in from the roots to tips making sure to separate the curls as you go. The Wetter your hair feels when you apply the gel the softer it will dry.

Im still not great with reading ingredients but I'm trying to learn, for the product above I noticed that it has

-Panthenol causes build up and acts like a protein,

- propylene glycol pulls out moisture from the hair in dry conditions.

#2 - are you reusing your plastic cap? I know if I use just a plastic bag, I will get itchy/sore the next day.

I have to use a sterile cap. I have also ordered an anti-microbial cap to experiment with. Considering oiling my scalp with garlic oil which is anti-microbial.

This is EXACTLY how my scalp feels! I was thinking something was wrong with me b/c I've experienced the same thing when doing GHE in the past. I was hoping with the CL & Caramel treatment first I could avoid it but no ma'am.... same results. And to answer your question, yes, I ALWAYS use a new, clean, out-of-the-pack processing/shower cap. I hate reusing them once used. I was saying to myself that with MHM I'm going to have to start using WalMart/Target bags to be more economical. Please post how the garlic oil & antiM cap work for you. I'm sitting here finally done with all Day 1 MHM steps but my scalp is soooo itchy/sore that's all I can think about.

Hey also, I was about to go to Trader Joe's to get their conditioner but it contains SOYBEAN PROTEIN!!!!!! So how can we be recommending it for this regime?

Juan, I don't know what else to say but to stop doing GHE over night for now. I noticed that my scalp can tolerate it during the day for maybe up to an hour or two. Try to use options that do not require GHE all night. Because if you continue, you'll end up like how I was... MORE of your scalp will be itchy and sore all the time. You'll start getting BUMPS and redness, too. So do not continue for now. Also, whenever I would get the soreness/itchiness, it would actually prevent my hair from growing. I have some spots with a lot of damage and I notice a huge difference in the hair from when I was allowing it to get itchy from now that I have the problem more controlled.

I will definitely let you know as my experimentation and research with antimicrobial oils, herbs and the cap goes. I was considering using Monistat, but I remember from past experience, it is only a temporary fix. Continued use of it is not good and not effective. And I didn't want its ingredients to interfere with the method.

Dee, actually yes. I smooth the conditioner from root to tip in small sections. I understand how this step will leave the hair white because i notice that the water gets caught 'between the curls" and gaps so its not all getting absorbed because its saturated. And then I put the gel... the gel has slip for me now (before it didn't... I had to dilute it and include the castorl oil. Now it has great slip). The hair is LESS white than before, but it is still white. It looks like my hair is wet with product kind of white. I now have been drying the hair with a t-shirt to deal with this, but would love to not have to do this so I can retain length and pull the hair into styles.

Hey also, I was about to go to Trader Joe's to get their conditioner but it contains SOYBEAN PROTEIN!!!!!! So how can we be recommending it for this regime?

Juan, I don't know what else to say but to stop doing GHE over night for now. I noticed that my scalp can tolerate it during the day for maybe up to an hour or two. Try to use options that do not require GHE all night. Because if you continue, you'll end up like how I was... MORE of your scalp will be itchy and sore all the time. You'll start getting BUMPS and redness, too. So do not continue for now. Also, whenever I would get the soreness/itchiness, it would actually prevent my hair from growing. I have some spots with a lot of damage and I notice a huge difference in the hair from when I was allowing it to get itchy from now that I have the problem more controlled.

I will definitely let you know as my experimentation and research with antimicrobial oils, herbs and the cap goes. I was considering using Monistat, but I remember from past experience, it is only a temporary fix. Continued use of it is not good and not effective. And I didn't want its ingredients to interfere with the method.

Dee, actually yes. I smooth the conditioner from root to tip in small sections. I understand how this step will leave the hair white because i notice that the water gets caught 'between the curls" and gaps so its not all getting absorbed because its saturated. And then I put the gel... the gel has slip for me now (before it didn't... I had to dilute it and include the castorl oil. Now it has great slip). The hair is LESS white than before, but it is still white. It looks like my hair is wet with product kind of white. I now have been drying the hair with a t-shirt to deal with this, but would love to not have to do this so I can retain length and pull the hair into styles.

soybean protein is like the last ingredient on the list and pinke said protein is fine as long as its not hydrolized wheat protein.

That's strange you guys are having problems with GHE. I do all my steps in one sitting so maybe try that and see if it would help? I deep condition for 10-20 min under a hooded-dryer instead of leaving it on overnight cause for me personally I wouldn't sleep well like that..

Both of those products have a lot of problem ingredients. I think you should just stick to the one's pinke recommended (if you're going to do the method) otherwise you'll have setbacks and then blame the regimen when it's really the products you're using.

Another thing I really like about this method is that I don't have to keep searching for that "holy grail" product

Edit: I had a really funny conversation today, I was at walmart and this lady asked me if I used hydrating shampoo because my hair was defined/curly (I give her a wtf face like what is hydrating shampoo thats a contradiction? LOL and how would shampoo define my curls?) I didn't say that though, I said I don't use shampoo, but I use conditioner and baking soda (I didn't tell her about the bentonite clay because I didn't want to bore her) then she proceeded to tell to stop using baking soda because it would "Cook" my hair i was like umm okay. I told her well I've been using it the past 3 months and obviously my hair caught your attention so you should look into it. I asked her if she was natural (her hair was short, but it was straight so I couldn't tell if she had just straightened her hair or if it was a perm) She was like "chilee no because It's too much work"

I swear these people have no idea what they are talking about when it comes to hair but will say things like they do

Ms Dee KAY, YOU SAID: 'After cherry lola the next day you will skip step 1 and do step 2 cowash and detangle'.

Do you mean:

If I just do the CL on Monday for example, and did not want to/did not have time to do the rest of the steps on the same day, would I be rinsing out the CL on the Mon or leaving it in overnight? Also, if I rinsed on Mon, what then?

Just curious to what other options I have when things can't run smoothlyaccording to circumstances.

Ms Dee KAY, YOU SAID: 'After cherry lola the next day you will skip step 1 and do step 2 cowash and detangle'.

Do you mean:

If I just do the CL on Monday for example, and did not want to/did not have time to do the rest of the steps on the same day, would I be rinsing out the CL on the Mon or leaving it in overnight? Also, if I rinsed on Mon, what then?

Just curious to what other options I have when things can't run smoothlyaccording to circumstances.

Cherry Lola is only done once every two weeks. The Cherry Lola is not left in over night. Its the conditioner from the co wash and detangle step that is being left over night.

(Btw just curious can you point to where I said that so I can go back & make it clear. if its in a previous post or on a video)

After Cherry Lola we SKIP step 1(Clarifying)

Cherry Lola

Cowash and detangle ( copied the options from the instructions)

Option 1:

Apply conditioner to your hair in sections, and deep condition overnight by covering your hair in a shower cap or thermal heating cap.

This will be 1-2 oz of conditioner and 4-6 oz of water into an applicator bottle. In the morning you rinse it out and it will function as your cowash. You can tuck roll and bun(or bobby pin) sections to keep from creating tangles during the night. This is also shown in my vid.

On days you know you will not be able to complete all the steps in full for whatever reason, simply stop here. Keep the shower cap on underneath your wig cap, beanie, or headscarf until you can complete the rest of the steps. This will prevent you from having any setbacks. It doesn’t count as a full day though until you complete the rest of the steps.

Option 2:

Apply conditioner, put on a shower cap, and Steam. Steam for 15-20 mins under a steamer, hooded dryer and rinse it out.This will function as your cowash. Use 1.5-2 oz of conditioner and 4-6 oz of water into an applicator bottle.

Option 3:

Apply warm conditioner in your hair in sections. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes under shower cap, and rinse it out. This will function as your co-wash. If you are doing this step, first pour 1.5-2 oz of conditioner into an applicator bottle. Then pour in 4-6 oz of warm/hot water or tea and shake.

Yeppers, I'm no longer gonna do GHE overnight. Today was my start
with MHM so I wanted to do the overnight condition b/c I thought it
could only help me (also I started these steps at 1:00 am so I was too
tired to do anything but baggie my hair & go to sleep). But when I
woke I quickly remembered that my scalp does NOT like GHE!
I actually own a steamer so some days I'll just steam when I DC &
alternate with warming my condish. UGH I want something to soothe my
scalp. Let me know if y'all have anything suggestions.

My hair is now about 85% dry... no white..
and I'm shocked b/c it was not looking like Pinke while I was applying.
There was some foam & no matter how much water I added I couldn't
get it to go away (I was also re-wetting my sections b/c they were
starting to dry). I do see some curls mostly on the ends. There was no
clumping at the root while I was applying the leave-in/gel. I can't wait
to see what this lil TWA looks like in the morning.

Yeppers, I'm no longer gonna do GHE overnight. Today was my start
with MHM so I wanted to do the overnight condition b/c I thought it
could only help me (also I started these steps at 1:00 am so I was too
tired to do anything but baggie my hair & go to sleep). But when I
woke I quickly remembered that my scalp does NOT like GHE!
I actually own a steamer so some days I'll just steam when I DC &
alternate with warming my condish. UGH I want something to soothe my
scalp. Let me know if y'all have anything suggestions.

My hair is now about 85% dry... no white..
and I'm shocked b/c it was not looking like Pinke while I was applying.
There was some foam & no matter how much water I added I couldn't
get it to go away (I was also re-wetting my sections b/c they were
starting to dry). I do see some curls mostly on the ends. There was no
clumping at the root while I was applying the leave-in/gel. I can't wait
to see what this lil TWA looks like in the morning.

I know I have heard people say their scalp itches with GHE so I went to her site and this was the information I could find:

After the 5th consecutive day of doing the GHE my scalp starts to feel a little itchy so i simply hop in the shower to rinse my hair with water and massage my scalp and that does the trick for me. There’s actually a discussion aboutthis on the Real Queen’s site where other ladies experienced the same thing http://realqueens.ning.com/group/realqueensregimensummer2011challenge/forum/topics/itchy-scalp-and-what-to-doItching can be caused by a few things…1. it could be the oil(s) you’re using, for instants JBCO has been known to cause a lot of itching so be mindful of the oils or mixtures you use to do the GHE…JBCO made my scalp itch even though i wasn’t putting it directly on it, the little bit that did get on it made it itch a lot

2. try not to put anything directly on your scalp so that it’s able to breath and be mindful of the products you are using as well especially if they are unnatural products that may cause build up and itching…I like to make sure my scalp is product free to avoid dirt and build up

3. when hair grows it tends to itch because there is activity taking place on the scalp, so the movement can cause itchiness

Now we are not using oils in this method so maybe it's something in the conditioner that could be causing you guys an allergic reaction?

Does this happen regardless of the conditioner? or does it only happen with one particular conditioner. It could also be the plastic bags.

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